Recovery
by Kara1626
Summary: The events of SWAK prompt some people to write some letters. WARNING: Contains references to spanking.
1. Kate

**WARNING: Contains references to spanking.**

**Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I just borrow them.**

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Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm sorry I haven't written in a few days, but things have been really crazy around here this week. I know I say that all the time, but it's the best way I can describe what's been going on.

Let me start by saying that I'm fine – I know how you worry. Last week, Tony opened a letter in the squadroom that had this powder in it. And since he has this really weird way of opening letters, he blew the powder all over the place. Naturally, everything stopped. No one knew for sure what it was, but we can't be too careful, so we had to shower and burn our clothes (I'm sorry, Mom, but I was wearing the slacks you bought me last time I was home!). Then, because Tony was the one who opened the letter and because I had a cold (oh, I'm feeling a lot better – thanks for the voicemail, Dad) he and I had to go to the hospital for tests and observation. Trust me, I was not happy about that. You know how I feel about hospitals. And Tony. I swear, being around him is like being around both of the boys at the same time – and their clones. He's insane!

Anyway, we went to the hospital and had to go into isolation. (Oh, our doctor's name was Brad Pitt. Seriously! And he was _cute_!!) They ran a bunch of tests and found out that the powder in the letter was the Plague. Can you believe that? No one's had the Plague since the Dark Ages! I was fine, but Tony was infected.

I've never been so scared in my life. I was happy that I was ok, but Tony got really sick. Dr. Pitt let me stay with him for a while, but it was so hard. He started coughing up blood and his fever was so high! But the whole time, he was still being Tony – quoting movie references, teasing me, just being his normal annoying self.

You would have been proud of me, Mom. I held it together. Until Ducky got there. I haven't cried like that since Gram died. But I was so scared that Tony was going to die. He's such a pain, but he really has become like another brother to me. I hope you get to meet him someday – Gibbs, Ducky, McGee and Abby too – but I think you and the boys will really like Tony. Especially the boys. On second thought… Anyway, Gibbs showed up at the hospital too and said that the spores in the letter had been modified to die after 32 hours and that Tony was going to be fine.

He was finally released from the hospital on Tuesday, but he won't be back to work for a few weeks. Ducky said that the plague gave him severe pneumonia and that he'll have scars on his lungs when he heals. I can't even imagine how much pain he was in, but since he's Tony, he just played it off.

So all of that is to say that we're all fine. It was just a really bad scare! I hesitated even telling you any of this because I know how much you worry about me. I hope you can forgive me for not calling earlier, but I decided to wait until I knew everything was ok before I even told you. I can just imagine Dad hopping on a plane and dragging me back to Indiana. Don't get any ideas, Dad – I love this job and I love the people I work with!

Speaking of the people I work with, Abby, Ducky and McGee say hi. Gibbs is still on his quest to find that terrorist. Just between us, he's making everyone crazy. He's been almost unbearable to work with lately. I really hope we get this guy soon – Gibbs is hard to work with on his best days! I just wish I knew why this whole thing bothers him so much. I know it's frustrating that he keeps getting away, but I just get the feeling there's something else going on that Gibbs isn't telling us (not that that surprises me at all).

Well, I have to get going. With Tony not here, my workload has really increased and we're still flooded with cases. I love you both and miss you so much. I'm trying to schedule some time off so I can come home soon. Tell the boys I say hi.

Love,

Kate


	2. Tony

Dear Dad,

I don't really know why I'm even writing this to you, but I guess some stuff that's happened lately has got me thinking about you. I'll start by saying that I'm fine. Well, I'm fine now. I had a pretty bad scare.

Last week, I opened this letter at work. It had some powder in it that turned out to be the Plague – you know, that disease that killed all those people in the Dark Ages. I ended up getting infected and spent a week in the hospital with a really nasty case of pneumonia. I made things so hard on my team. When we're down a man, the workload gets so much harder to deal with. And Gibbs is still tracking down that terrorist who tried to kill Gerald and Abby and kidnapped Kate. But I know you have no idea what I'm talking about since I never told you about any of that. Just know that I screwed up. I'm sure you're not surprised.

I'm home now. Well, sort of. I'm out of the hospital anyway, but Gibbs wouldn't let me go home alone. So I'm at his house. He even took the first two days I was here off so he could take care of me. It's almost like having a nanny around. He makes sure I eat and take my medicine at the right times.

Mostly, I've just been sleeping a lot, so I am starting to feel better. Hopefully, I can go back to work in a couple of weeks – I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. And I think I'm starting to annoy Gibbs. You remember what that's like, right?

Just between you and me, I'm really happy to be here. And while I'm afraid he's going to send me home soon, it's nice to have someone actually care about me. And it turns out, I have a lot of people who care about me. Ducky, Kate, Abby and even McGee and Palmer have stopped by to check on me all week.

And after that last paragraph, there's no way I'm actually sending this e-mail to you. I just don't want to deal with you trying to tell me that you care about me. So since I'm not going to send this, I guess I should stop writing it now.

I hope you're doing ok.

Tony (your son)


	3. Gibbs

Dear Shannon,

I miss you so much right now. Even more than I always do, I wish you were here. I could really have used your help these last couple of weeks. So much has gone wrong. And at the same time, a lot has gone right.

Ari's still out there somewhere. He's going to turn up eventually, but after what he did to Gerald and Abby and Kate, I'm just so scared of what he's going to do next. And there's nothing I can do about it! Just like there's nothing I can do to bring you and Kelly back. It's just killing me lately.

I thought he was back last week. Powder in letters isn't Ari's style, but for a few seconds right after Tony opened that letter, I was sure it was Ari trying to kill one of my people again. Of course, it wasn't him, but I still spend so much time looking over my shoulder. I haven't been sleeping well, I've barely been eating. And I'm sure my entire team is about to quit. He knows about you. I don't know how, but he does.

But like I said, I could really use you now. Tony's here. He got so sick after he opened that letter. I was sure he was going to die. And if he had, I don't think I could have stayed at NCIS anymore. I've lost people before, but he's so much more than just "one of my people". He's so much like me. Way more annoying, but still, a lot like me. I imagine that if we'd had a son, he would have been a lot like Tony. That kid, I don't know how, but he's wormed his way into my heart. Not like Abby, she was there almost from day one. But Tony…I don't know…

Anyway, after he got out of the hospital, there was no way I was going to let him go back to his place to recover. He has no actual food there and he was so weak those first couple of days that I doubt he would even have been able to get up and hit the head, let alone take his medicine. I didn't even think twice before I decided that I would bring him back here. But it would have been so much easier if you were here. I took a couple of days off to take care of him, but now that I've had to go back to work, I hate leaving him alone all day.

At first I didn't want to leave him because he was still pretty weak, but he slept a lot, so it was fine. But he's starting to feel better. He's nowhere near healed, but he's definitely feeling better. And the way I know that, besides that he's not sleeping nearly as much, is that he's getting on my nerves! He's bored, which with Tony, is _never_ a good thing. The last time he was bored, he just about blew himself up! I can't have that happening again.

He's getting into everything. And I have no idea why. He already explored just about every square inch of this place when he stayed here last year. But he's touching everything! I come home at the end of the day and everything's been moved around. To his credit, he did vacuum the downstairs yesterday – and then took a four-hour nap.

And then there's the conversation we had last night. He's feeling so guilty for opening that letter. I don't really know why. It's not like anyone besides him got sick, but for some reason, he's just drowning in guilt. He kept calling himself a screw-up and trying to apologize for everything. We were sitting in the living room watching a game when suddenly, he started apologizing for opening the letter, for getting sick, for not being at work, and for _making_ me take care of him. He kept saying that he's a burden and that he's intruding on my life. The worst part, though, was when he asked me when and how badly I was going to spank him. He honestly thought I was going to punish him for opening the letter. I'm telling you, if I ever meet his father, it's going to be all I can do to not beat the crap out of him!

I tried to explain to him that it was my choice to bring him here, but he's not accepting that. I didn't tell him that I actually like having him here. And I didn't tell him how scared I was that he almost died. I didn't tell him how much he means to me. Maybe I should, but you know me – when it comes down to it, I just can't figure out what to say.

And Tony's never been the affectionate type. Even if I did ever tell him the truth, I don't know how he'd handle it. I suspect it would make him really uncomfortable. I guess I'm a little afraid that if I told him how I really feel about him, he'd pull away. So I'll just do whatever I can to help him whenever he needs someone. And hope he stops trying to apologize soon. It's driving me up the wall! And I swear, if he doesn't find something constructive to do soon, I may just spank him after all, just to get him to settle down. Yeah, there's no way I'm going to do that with him still so weak. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to threaten him with it, right?

Well, I hear him moving around upstairs so I have to go get dinner ready before he breaks something. I miss you more than I can bear to think about. Give Kelly a hug and a kiss from me and tell her that I love her.

Like we always said, my heart to yours,

Jethro

P.S. I think you should know, I may be starting to forgive God for taking you. No one could ever replace you and Kelly, but I'm starting to feel a little like I have a family again. I hope that makes you smile.


End file.
